And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.

 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people.

(Leviticus 9:1-23 KJV)

Most Evangelical Christians (including those within the Reformed camp) would not look to the book of Leviticus to derive its order of worship. Reformed Christians pride themselves on being a people who follow the Regulative Principle of Worship (i.e. we must only do what God commands us to do in worship), but when it comes to the rules for the RPW, we more often than not leave it within the confines of the New Covenant Scriptures. Doing so is commendable, but I believe it has not helped our understanding of the book of Leviticus as a whole. 

It is outside the scope of this article to give a complete overview of the book of Leviticus, but in short: The book of Leviticus is the book of worship for Israel.

Israel, who has been saved out of Egypt, baptized in the Red Sea, and covenanted with Yahweh on Mt. Sinai, must now worship Yahweh. How are they to do that? Answer: The Book of Leviticus.

And when we look at Leviticus, especially the first 9 chapters, we get the order of Israel’s worship, and surprisingly enough, it may very well be argued that the Church’s understanding of the order of worship is derived from Levitical worship. This is no surprise. God’s people have always been a sacrificial people. Whether worshiping at the Tabernacle/Temple or worshiping as the Tabernacle/Temple of God, God’s people worship by sacrifice. Our Reformed worship is Levitical worship.

Call to Worship

And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

 And he said unto Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.

 And unto the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering;

Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the Lord will appear unto you.

 And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord.

(Leviticus 9:1-5)

Though we are commanded to come boldly before the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4), we do not do so without God calling us first. The same is true in Leviticus; here we see Moses calling all of Israel to draw near to Yahweh, and he does this by the Word. Yahweh spent the previous eight chapters telling His people the different sacrifices He commands from them. It is this Word given that Moses then used to call God’s people to draw near and worship Yahweh. 

The Sin Offering (Confession of Sin)

And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.

 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the Lord commanded.

 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself.

 And the sons of Aaron brought the blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:

 But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the Lord commanded Moses.

 And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp.

(Leviticus 9:6-11)

In this passage, we see that God’s people have been called into His presence, and now must confess their sins. This is the sin offering. Christians today still offer up the sin offering unto our Triune God. We confess our sins to the Lord (1 John 1:9), and rest in the assurance that “if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). The Lamb we bring for the sin offering is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and we bring it to our High Priest, who is Jesus Christ. Christ is truly all and in all for God’s people!

The Ascension Offering (Ministry of the Word)

And he slew the burnt offering; and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled round about upon the altar.

 And they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar.

 And he did wash the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt offering on the altar.

 And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first.

 And he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according to the manner.

 And he brought the meat offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning.

 And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar:

 And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before the Lord; as Moses commanded.

(Leviticus 9:12-17; 20-21)

If you have spent any time listening or reading James B. Jordan, you would know that he thinks the phrase “whole burnt offering” is a bad translation of the Hebrew word ‘olah, and I agree. A better translation would be to call the burnt offering an Ascension Offering. We have confessed our sins to Yahweh, and now we are ascending towards Him in the ministry of the Word. This would include our prayers, our praise, our receiving of the Word both in the hearing and preaching thereof. All of these acts are sacrificial:

• Our prayers are incense, a pleasing aroma rising up to our Triune God (Psalm 14:2, Revelation 5:8 & 8:3-4)

• We offer up sacrifices of praise (Hebrews 13:15)

• The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, and cuts us in half like a sacrifice (Hebrews 4:12)

Under the banner of the ascension offering, I also include here the meat (grain) offering and wave offering. These correlate with our tithes and offerings, which are offered up to the Lord for the advancement of His Kingdom. Our tithes and offerings are also sacrificial in nature, according to the Apostle Paul (Philippians 4:18).

Just as we still offer up sin offerings in the Lord Jesus Christ, we also offer up ascension offerings in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14).

The Peace Offering (Communion)

He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar round about,

 And the fat of the bullock and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver:

(Leviticus 9:18-19)

It is in Leviticus 7 where we receive the law of the peace offering, which, in essence, is a meal. Those who offer peace offerings eat the peace offering. Do you see the pattern happening here? Those who have been called by the Lord, confess their sins to the Lord, are consecrated by the Lord, and now commune with the Lord. And all of this is only possibly through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Paschal Lamb, therefore we keep the feast (1 Corinthians 5:8), we keep the peace offerings.

The Aaronic Blessing (Benediction)

 And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings.

 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people.

(Leviticus 9:22-23)

We learn from Numbers 6 that the only proper blessing for God’s people is what has come to be known as the Aaronic Blessing:

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

(Numbers 6:23-26)

Just as God’s people received God’s blessing in the wilderness, we receive the same blessing on the Lord’s Day in corporate worship. Is it not curious that the Aaronic Blessing is a three-fold blessing? That the blessing of God for the people of God is the blessing of the Triune God for the Triune-named baptized people of God? It is the Father who blesses and keeps you, the Son who is gracious to you, and the Spirit who gives you peace (2 Corinthians 13:14). The same God who called us into His presence, cleansed, consecrated, and communed with us, is the same God who blesses us and sends us back into the world to live for His Glory. 

Conclusion

After seeing the similarities between Levitical worship and our worship now, my hope is that you will come to enjoy the book of Leviticus more. My hope is that the Scriptures will not look so foreign to you when you read of all the sacrifices that happen in Scripture, because God’s people have been and still are a sacrificing people. My hope is that you will see that Levitical worship is Reformed worship, and that it does line up with the Regulative Principle of Worship. My hope is that when you gather for worship this Lord’s Day, you will view your worship through the lens of the book of Leviticus, and how Jesus Christ has fulfilled all of it.